High School Filmmaker Profile: Evan Trout’s 2010 HFF Experience Hypes Him Up for the Future

This blog post is one in a series, which documents the experiences of the High School Film Competition Award-winning filmmakers as well as those High School Film Competition official selection filmmakers at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival. The 2010 Heartland High School Film Competition theme was Hope. The 2011 Call for Entries open January 15, 2011 and the theme is Courage.

Evan Trout answers an audience member's question following a screening of his film Lady and the Champ at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival

It was amazing to have so many out-of-state students at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival with their winning entries for the Heartland High School Film Competition. However, we felt really lucky to have a local Finalist in the mix as well. Evan Trout (Lady and the Champ), an Indianapolis resident now in his senior year, was able to enjoy the entire Heartland experience. From Opening Night to Closing he was at each event and as many screenings as he could take in. And what we liked about him was the fact he knew how to take advantage of the experience, networking with other filmmakers and being emboldened to follow his future path as a filmmaker.

Evan shares his experience at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival through being awarded a Finalist in the High School Film Competition.

The general experience with Heartland was just plain amazing. I felt like the Heartland staff were working really hard to make everyone happy and you guys succeeded. I just enjoyed being a part of the whole process and seeing everything happen from behind stage. Even though we were just high school kids, we were still treated with as much respect as the professional filmmakers were.

I really liked how the film festival is focused on the filmmaker. I guess for me, it just kind of made me feel pretty legit. Being exposed to all of the other films really hyped me up about being a filmmaker. Seeing all of the other films also made me realize the importance of not just a well put together story, but a well put together meaningful story.

We can’t wait to have Evan back at the 2011 Heartland Film Festival, whether as an award-winner or just another amazing filmmaker making the most of what Heartland has to offer!